Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Aww man! You don't have to worry about plumbing! All you have to do is stick a fuel line to the carb and one in a small gallon can. Then for your cooling a 5 gallon bucket of water to dump on the motor when it gets hot!!! HAHAHAHAHAHHA!!! That's almost how I did it with my 64! lol!

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Looking forward to seeing how you do the notch and raise the floor. Still not decided on how I want to do it on my truck.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

I'm going down 2 more inches in the rear, nothing radical. I think I'm going put a simple old-school pipe notch in it, with boxing plates on the inside. I'm only going to raise the bedfloor enough to get decent clearance between it and the rear end housing. I plan to make a notch that's sturdy enough to still carry a decent load in the bed and tow a car trailer every once in awhile. So, that means thick pipe, thick plates, and fully welded in place.

As far as the bedfloor, I'm still gathering info on different ways to do it.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

If you really wanna be cheap, there's always the 'ol Inverted Cakepan Trick!

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Alright, Chip you've got me.........What's the Inverted Cakepan Trick? Is that sort of like the Wheelbarrow Firewall trick, the Snowshovel Distributor Clearance Trick, or the Mailbox Blower Scoop Trick?

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Exactly! If you're hitting, go to Goodwill, etc., and find a good thick old school cake pan. Cut appropriate opening and use 1/4 carriages through flange on pan, seam sealer the underside, Bolt that sucker down, 'et 'voila! Notch cover. 'Course, a wily fella such as yourself could do the notch, then pull the springs and fab up bumpstops to stop the rear at say 1/4" off the bed floor. I'm just spitballing here. (Actually, I'm living vicariously through you 'cuz I'm too lazy to get off my dead ass and take a sawzall to my own truck!)

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PS- 2 inches more drop in the rear? Who doesn't love some California Rake? Leave the back high, piss Freiburger off!

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Actually, I'm waiting until I get everything forward of the firewall installed, including the coil springs, before I decide to do anything with the rear. Once I get all of the weight on the front, I can make the final decision on the tire height and how many coils I need to cut (if any). After that is done, I'll step back about 50 feet and view it from every angle and see what it needs. I'm a huge supporter of the big/little look, and in order to make it work, you have to have the right rake. The wheelbase of longbed makes it a little more tricky to get the rake right because just a little change in the front or rear height makes a huge difference. I DO NOT want this truck to sit level!!

Scott Sullivan said it right. He said that a 1/4" difference in height can make the difference between a hot rod and a tractor.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

He's not kidding. My formula for years has been 3-5 deg downward rake, measured at the pinchweld to the ground, variance dictated by wheelbase, the more the longer. This carries also roughly through the tires in both height and section width. All visual points tapering forward front to back. A friend once said he could tell from a block away if I'd set a car/truck up. But that's just what I like. It's probably why I like this truck so much.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Waitin for the engine to spin……vid? lots of pics.
Gonna make it sit pur-fecta’

Note: keep all cooking utensils away from truck build.:haha:

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All Right, Alex, quit holding out on us! Your fans need a fix!

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Rumor has it, Santa is bringing me a set of 2" blocks from Boris (Way2low2) at Street Machinery, and also a pair of C-notches.

.....my wife's a keeper :metal:

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Lucky....

Do you guys shut down over the holidays? Truck workin' time!

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Yep, we cranked up the wick big-time with a challenge from management that if we met our goals, we would shut down for Christmas. We got it done, so that means that it's full speed ahead on the '64. I have lots of things planned!!

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Woot Woot! Enjoy the down (workin') time. Don't forget to take Momma out!

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Coming along nice! A notch from Borris saves a ton of work, ask me how I know :( He was backordered so I went ahead and did the pipe, plate, box method.

Cake pan..I like it! I want a deep bedside for the dogs and didn't want to raise my floor, but want to go lower also. I picked up a diff cover that I may "cake pan" into the floor.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Man if my wife new what all I wanted for Christmas for my truck she'd freak out. But as always tools are welcomed. My wife is good with finding me tools I can use. Who can't use tools?

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Read through the entire thread and I'm blown away by your attention to detail and the creative ways you have used junkyard parts. Killer work!

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Alex put his 2" blocks in Saturday and the truck sits perfect! He's going to have so much fun driving the crap out of this when it's done! I'm feeling guilty for not helping him as much as I'd like to, but I'm neck deep in my Bonneville project and working on it every spare minute I have. I'm going to have to kick mine to the side shortly though so I can help Alex get this beast wrapped up 'cuz this dude needs to be driving this thing!

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Pics or it didn't happen!

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

It happened.......
After installing the 2" blocks, it put the back of the truck exactly where I wanted it. I haven't had a chance to see the truck on the ground and sitting "right" in a long time. You will also notice in this picture that sliding the front wheels 1" forward when it got Z'd made a HUGE difference.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...ps60f1f9ed.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...ps51c09bd6.jpg

We got most of the bed wood removed today, and the next step is to cut the bolts that won't loosen (the ones that just spin) and then remove the wheel tubs. After that, the c-notch goes on, and the bed floor gets raised, followed by a bunch of other stuff that I won't divulge just yet. The ideas I have are going to be mods that I've never seen anyone do before. I think you'll like them.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

That looks freakin' killer, dude.:metal:

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I don't think I'm going to like those mods you have never seen done before.....lol. Seriously the truck looks freaking killer man. So Kool. Right stance, right wheels and everything. Let's go to Lowes....you want to?

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

WOWZA! AWESOME!!!!:metal: Looks killer!

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That looks RIGHT!!

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I'm convinced know gotta move the front forward 1"

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Stance is killer! This is another one of those long beds I just can't help but like even though I'm a short bed guy. :metal:

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Looks great Alex!

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This's better'n Christmas! You win, that looks Bitc*in'! The wheel move was good. Can't wait for the next stage!

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Thanks, Earl!

Thanks, Rusty! The mods I'm planning to do are not crazy custom stuff, but very subtle additions that will package a lot of usable features in a very small area.

Thanks, T.J.!

Thank You, John! It's amazing what a little height adjustment can do. Now, I have a lot of work ahead of me getting the notches done, moving the bed floor up, and other things.

To me, the one thing that always stands out is how the front wheels on the 60-66 trucks always move back in the wheel openings after you lower them. Once your eyes catch it, it's so obvious every time you see one that's been lowered. Moving the wheels forward makes a huge difference in aesthetics.

It's funny you say that. I have always been a short bed guy as well, and I when I started on this one, I figured that I would do some of my normal tricks and let the chips fall where they may. Honestly, I've been a bit surprised at how much the long beds have grown on me. Even still, if I'm building an all-out hot rod, it'll be a short bed. If I'm building an all-purpose, fun to drive, beat-around-town truck, then it'll probably be a long bed just because you use them for a lot of different things. This truck WILL get used as a truck!

Thanks, Eric! How's your truck coming along?

Thanks, Chip! The next stage will involve a lot of sparks, grinding, painting, welding, and saw dust. Once this phase is completed, then it'll be plumbing and wiring.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

You nailed it! Can't wait to see what's next.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Awesome looking build!!!!

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Love the Stance!!!:metal::metal::metal:

Merry Christmas!!!:ennyd:

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

man I love this truck and I agree, stance is perfect.

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Not too much to show, but the last few days were spent removing the original bed wood. That was a real treat. :( I am trying to save every bit of the original wood, so it was done very carefully. Lots of the fasteners just spun in their holes so they had to be drilled out. After the wood was removed, the torch got fired up and the rivets common to the area where the c-notch is going got hot-wrenched and then driven out with an air chisel. I have to say that GM did an AWESOME job installing those rivets 50 years ago because every one of them was a pain to get out!

I cut the frame on the passenger side for the notch, and it's about 80% there. Still a little more grinding to do to get it to fit nice and tight. Anybody who has ever done this job knows that the frame is double-walled in the area of the notch. It takes a while to make all the cuts. I'll move over to the driver's side tomorrow.

Here's a shot of the nasty looking frame. I'll do all of the fab work first, leave it all rusty and dirty, and then blow it all apart for paint when it's done. The bed crossmembers are going to the blaster, the bed wood will get semi-restored, and the inside of the bed will get CLR'd, lightly scuffed and then shot in a satin clear.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...ps69e9d71d.jpg

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

I can't wait to see more.....hardly can wait now.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Not too much to report on fab work because the wife has had the last few days off and we're hanging out together. She works in retail (manages a Coach Leatherware store), and we hardly see each other from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

I DID, however, sneak out yesterday and drove 200 miles round trip to pick up a used '67-'72 fleetside sport bumper for $70(!). It has a few minor scratches on it, but it's perfectly straight with original chrome, and it's exactly what I was looking for. The guy put it on Craigslist about 2 weeks ago, and then went on vacation to Hawaii. I called on the ad figuring that it was gone, and he had just gotten back from his trip yesterday morning, so I was kinda first in line. Sometimes, you just get lucky.

So, I'm looking for a set of bumper brackets, if you know anybody that has any.

Re: Project '64 Cheapskate
 

Nice snag! I like those on the 60-66's. Cleans up the rear.

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Oh nice score dude.

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Makes me want to make an offer on a buddies 64 rusting away in his back yard. Has original straight six and three speed sitting in the bed. It would be a shame to see it rust away. But this is definitely inspiration for me!